June 2018

TV: Tennis, NBC

Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens meet in the semifinals of the 2018 tennis French Open.

Madison Keys is coming off a straight sets win over Yulia Putintseva that took 23 games to decide. In the victory, Keys won 84 percent of her first serve points and 56 percent of her second serve points. Keys lost just six of 37 first serve points and hit 30 winners compared to 21 unforced errors. When Keys is not beating herself and managing her power in the right spots, she’s one of the tougher players in the world to beat and somebody who will take the racket out of her opponents hands. Keys is in a great spot at the moment with the way she’s playing and should be highly confident. Keys has a chance to reach her first final since last years US Open and her second career grand slam final appearance. Keys is 1-1 in grand slam semifinal appearances. Keys has won seven of her last eight matches on clay court.

Sloane Stephens is coming off a straight sets win over Daria Kasatkina that took 16 games to decide. In the victory, Stephens won 63 percent of her first serve points and 78 percent of her second serve points. Stephens won 65 percent of her total service points and produced five breaks on seven chances. Stephens has still dropped just one set this tournament and is going to remain a tough out if she continues to return the way she has recently. Stephens has also shown a great mental approach and has been able to power through any hiccups she’s had this tournament. Stephens hopes to make her second final appearance of the season and her second career grand slam final appearance. Stephens is 1-1 in grand slam semifinal appearances. Stephens has won nine of her last 12 matches on clay court.

These two have played twice, and Stephens has won both meetings in straight sets. The matches took place in last years US Open and the 2015 Miami Masters. Keys has won a combined nine games against Stephens in those matches.

You can really make a strong case for either of these players based on their current form, as both players have cruised through the competition. Stephens has obviously had the upper hand in past meetings and Keys is much more effective with her power attack on clay. However, I’m still backing Keys in this match. Keys has yet to drop a set this tournament and when she’s not racking up the unforced errors, she usually wins. Keys losing in the US Open to Stephens had a lot to do with nerves and unforced errors. We haven’t seen that these last two weeks.

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